Read The Price of Butcher's Meat Online
Authors: Reginald Hill
Cassâomigod I was so wrongânobody kills anyone in Sandytown I said! Listenâdont come homeâyoure probably safer where you areâno thats stupid!âwhats one death compared with what you see?â& why am I so excited?ânot just horrified & scaredâtho those tooâbut excitedâdo you feel like this sometimes?âor am I just wierd?
SorryâIm babbling & you must be wondering about what? Here goesâwhat happenedâin orderâmust have orderâfirst rule of psychology my tutor saidâbe a still point in the midst of chaosâsoâdeep breathâIm a still pointâhere we go.
FirstâIm still here in Sandytownâwhy?âbecause Im an idiotâthats why!
After the do at the AvalonâI got to thinkingâdont know whyâthat something was building up hereâdont know what!âbut woke up yesterday feelingâif I go home now it will be like leaving the cinema just as the orcs come marching out of the gates of Mordor! OKâthats exaggerating a bitâbut suddenly it seemed like Lady Ds hog roast would be a climax I shouldnt miss.
For once I wish to hell Id been wrong!
So I asked the Parkers if I could stay another day. Youd have thought Id given them first prize in the lottery! Minnie flung her arms around me & gave me a kiss. I felt really good. So I rang homeâthe HB was furiousânatch!âbut mum was pleasedâI think she suspects Ive met a
nice young man
â& with luck hell turn out a cross between her favorites Harrison Ford & Tom Hanks!
So I spent yesterday writing up what notes Id takenâbut mainly just lazing around.
& todayâthe hog roast!
Oh Jesusâthat phraseâyoull see!
Everyone was thereâall the ParkersânatchâDi had brought Sandy G alongâso at least old Deaths Door was keeping her promise of getting her the S-town social scene! Toms bunch of wierdos were there tooâincluding Godly Gordonâfolk from the AvalonâFeldenhammerâMiss Sheldon the chief nurseâplus a whole bunch of people I didnt knowâat their center a guy with a gold chain round his scraggy neckâprobably local councillors enjoying a freebieâall the buggers are good for according to dad. Hunky bart & the Ice Queen were thereânaturally. He looked like hed got out of the wrong side of someones bedânot mine! Having a row with his sisterâcaught my eye but just looked away when I tried a friendly wave. Sod you! I thought. Thenâto my surpriseâthe IQ flashed me a big friendly smileâlike she thought the wave was for herâor maybe she was just looking at someone important over my shoulder!
Lady D made a welcome speechâvery graciousâthanked all the friends & supporters of the consortium for all thier efforts to put Sandytown on the mapâlooked forward to everyone reaping the rewardsâall the time contriving somehow to give the impression this was her own personal partyâapologized because thered been a hitch with the actual roasting bitâso no pork ready for another hour or soâbut lots of other goodiesâ& buckets of boozeâso enjoy!
The mob didnt need any encouragement! As freebies goâthis was a good one. No expense spared. Top quality boozeâno plonkâ& acres of grubâchina platesâreal cutleryânothing plasticâall laid out on tables on the lawn in front of the hall. Id expected a hog roast would mean roast pork or nothingâbut not a bit of it. All tastes catered for.
There were half a dozen kids thereâincluding Minnie & Paulâwhod come prepared for a swim from the private beach. Not without an adultâLady D insisted.
Couple of adults volunteeredâincluding Miss Leeâher of the long nee
dles!â& Teddy got in on the actâlooking to win brownie points no doubt! He ushered the kids inside to get changed.
I went to take a look at the famous roasting machineâsituated well away from the hallâpresumably for safetys sakeâhidden by a heavy rhododendron shrubbery on the house sideâ& protected seaward from the prevailing east wind by a mixed copse of pine & beech.
Ollie Hollis was thereâlooking a bit chastenedâie like hed been rolled on by an angry elephantâwhich is probably what being told off by Lady D feels like! But when I spoke to him kindlyâhe was happy to show off his machinery.
The roasting device itself isnt a spit but an ovoid metal basket into which the pig is fitted & which then revolves slowly over a long trench filled with burning charcoal. Its worked by a fine geared weight driven deviceâbit like a grandfather clockâtakes Ollie about ten minutes to get the weight to its apogeeâbut then it will turn the basket for the next forty five minutes without human aid. The whole thing is on big metal wheelsârunning on railsâstarting in a wooden hut with a tin roofâwhere its kept out of the weather. The ground slopes down from the hutâso its easy to get the basket in positionâ& theres a winch inside so it can be hauled back up. Ollie didnt seem keen to let me take a lookâmaybe hes got a woman in there, I thought! It was too hot to stand around the charcoal pit longâhumid thundery weatherâplenty of sunshine & blue sky but lots of big lurid clouds bubbling up eastward tooâmaking me think I might get that big storm across the sea Id been hoping forâso I headed back to the lawn.
Got there just in time to see the beach party setting offâTed looking v Greek Godishâall rippling brown muscle & curling black body hair (did the Gk gods have body hair?) & a pair of swimming trunks that left just enough to the imagination! I hoped hed have enough sense not to be tempted into skinny-dipping. One thing dropping your kegs in front of a mature young womanâthats me!âquite another in front of kids. These days youd get ten yearsâno questions asked.
Everyone was well scattered by nowâsome exploring the woodland walksâoldies on the lawn in garden chairsâcouncillors not straying far from
the drinks table. Had a chat with Sandy G. Asked her how her neice was. Got that funny stareâthen she saidâoh shes fineânot sounding all that concerned. Maybe shed been glad to swap a pair of teens for Diana! No accounting for tasteâas the HB likes to say.
Bumped into Estherâto my surprise I got another friendly smileâcalled me Charleyâ& insisted on making sure I got my bubbly topped up.
âHello!âI thought. When the Ice Queen meltsâget your flood defenses up!
Had to admit thoughâwhen she turns on the charmâyouve got to remind yourself what shes really like! & of course she looked drop dead gorgeous in a skimpy top & organdy skirt. Not for her the Clara pallid look. Long golden limbs with no suggestion that the tan stops anywhere!
Then she reverted to type when Franny rolled his chair toward usâturned on her heelâ& made off into the shrubbery.
âsorryâsaid Frannyâdidnt mean to break up your tete-a-teteâyou two seemed to be getting on rather wellâ
âdont worryâI saidâprobably a mistake anywayâmaybe someone told her I once screwed a guy whod screwed a girl whod screwed Prince Harryâ
That made him chortle so much he almost fell out of his chair.
Kept on glimpsing Godly Gordon out of the corner of my eyeâwatching meâbut whenever I turned he looked away! Finally I decided to go & ask him if my slip was showing or somethingâjust to see him blush when I said
slip!
âonly nowâof courseâhe wasnt watching me but standing a little way offâat the edge of the shrubbery between the main lawn & the hog roast pitâhaving what looked like a furious row with Lady Dâ& I certainly wasnt going to get mixed up in that.
Soon it was clear the weather was definitely on the turnâwind getting upâclouds eating up the blueâhotter & more humid than ever. Maryâwho had her two youngest in towâbegan to get worried about Minnie & Paul on the beach. I said theyd be fineâTeddy was with themâbut to set her mind at rest I offered to go & take a look.
At the top of the cliff path I met Esther again. She looked a bit disheveled & overheatedânot at all like an Ice Queenâ& this time I didnt think it was anything to do with me.
âCharleyâshe saidâhave you seen Teddy?â
âisnt he down on the beach?âI asked.
ânoâIve just looked thereâ
âshit!âthe kids arent swimming by themselvesâare they?â
âwhat?ânoâtheres someone with themâshe saidâtho I got the impression that they could have been carried off by a killer whale for all she cared!
She set off toward the lawn where everyone was heading toward the houseâexcept for Frannyâsitting there in his chairâa glass of bubbly in his handâsmiling at the great retreat. To my surprise Ess actually stopped & spoke to him.
I thoughtâthe cow must be really keen to find Teddy if shes deigning to address the legless wonder!
I set off down the cliff path. Easy going at firstâgentle descent along a track winding down through heather & clumps of rhododendronsâsteepening eventually to a long ledge where there was a protective railing. One length of the wooden rail was tied to a metal upright with binder cordâ& there was a handwritten notice sayingâdo not lean on the railing. Good job Mary didnt know about that! I thought.
It was hereâI recalled from my visit to the beachâthat the real exposure beganâ& a steep path zigzagged down the cliff faceâwith a handrail all the way.
I paused on the ledge & looked down to the beachâI could make out figures in the deepening gloomâchildren & a couple of adults who seemed to be rounding them up. I was going to carry on my descent when I heard a noiseâcoming from behind me I thoughtâ& I looked back along the ledge & saw there was a sort of little track winding off itâclimbing back above the shrub & vegetation line. The noise came againâvery faint in the rising windâbut to my famous little sharp ears it sounded humanâso just in case Minnie had decided to do a bit of exploring I went to take a look.
The track led to a particularly thick clump of rhodies. I pulled a few branches asideâ& found myself looking into a sort of caveâmore of a deep overhang reallyâbut rendered dark & shady by the thick foliage.
Then out over the sea a huge jag of lightning split the horizonâ& in its brief light I saw two figures in there.
One I recognized instantlyâthough I could only see his back. Those muscular thighs & bulging calves were unmistakably the hunky barts. The noise was coming from himâa kind of rhythmic groaning. He was lying on top of the other figureâalso facedown. All I could see of her were the long white legsâsprawling wideâbut that was enough. Lady D might think she could jerk Teddy & Clara around at willâbut the fire in the blood had made short work of her bits of string! As I watchedâhis round pink buttocks (cant have done enough skinny-dipping to get them the rich russet of his legs & torso!)âfrom gently bobbing up & down like Halloween applesâwent into overdriveâ& the groans ceased to sound human!
Jesus!âI thoughtâfirst Liam up against that treeânow thisâmaybe Im fated every time I fancy a guy to catch him in flagrante!
Tho I knew the kids were safe I felt a bit pissed that Teds offer of supervision had just been a cover for thisânot very logical I knowâbut I felt personally betrayedâso I tried to announce my presence with a loud cough! But it was drowned in a mighty clap of thunderâ& in any caseâfrom the noise Teddy was now making I dont think there was much risk of him noticing anything short of a kick up the backside!
As I made my way back along the ledgeâthe storm really broke looseâlightningâforked & sheetâplayed over the sea & the rising wind drove huge drops of rain into my face.
I was mightily relieved to meet the kids hurrying up the path toward meâMinnie & Paul among themâhim a bit scaredâher really excited. Behind them came Miss Lee & a guy I didnt know.
âthat everyone?âI asked Miss L.
âyesâI checkedâshe said.
By the time we got back to the houseâwe were soaking. Everyone else had already retreated to shelterâmany of them crowded into the huge east facing conservatoryâto watch the storm. Others had made themselves comfortable in the deep armchairs in the reception roomsâin one of which Alan Hollis had reassembled the drinks tableâ& the councillors had settled round it happily!
I reported back to Maryâthen took the two kids in search of towels to dry ourselves off. They thought it was a great adventure & Minnie was
almost drunk with excitement. In a first floor bathroom I got her as dry as I couldâbut when I started on her brother she shot off through the door. I dried Paulâgave myself a rubânothing to do about our damp clothesâbut it was still too warm to take much harm from them.
We set off after Minnie. I guessed shed have gone up rather than downâ& I found her kneeling on the broad inner sill of a second floor oriel windowâstaring outârapt. I couldnt blame herâit was a magnificent & terrifying sight.
Almost as black as night nowâlit from time to time by lightning flashesâsheet trembling out over the raging waters of the North Seaâforked closer at handâshowing us the woodland surging wildlyâas though dancing in unison with the ocean waves. After the initial downpour the rain seemed almost to have stopped. We saw a jag of electricity hit a tall pineâcleaving it in two from top to bottomâthen darkness againâtill the next flash showed us only a mad whirl of leaves & ash where the tree had been.
What of the pair in the cliff cave?âI wondered.
Did they still shelter thereâclinging close as the air seemed to explode around them? I could almost envy Clara. To make them take such a risk on such an occasionâtheir desire must have been elementalâ& how this storm must seem to stamp Gods approval on what theyd done!
Getting religion? Maybeâweather like this always makes me feel there has to be somethingâbut what happened next makes me doubt if I want much to do with whatever that something is!
Dont know how long we stayed there. Eventuallyâthinking Mary would be getting worried againâI made them go down. Slowly the storm subsided. I began to look around. Almost at once I spotted Claraâso they must have made it back. Incredibly she hardly looked damp at all. Of courseâwhen the storm brokeâas well as the shelter from the shrubsâshed have had her clothes offâprobably underneath her.